"Mind explaining what that was all about?" Vivi asks as she, Alex and Ying eat with the rest of the crew at the cafeteria aside from Chao who remained in the barracks alone in silence. "You know, you've been on my ass an awful lot lately. I didn't think so before, but maybe some of your directed anger has some roots in your family matters? Not that I particularly care, had that been the case. But I feel like it's only right you tell us what's going on after riding my ass like a horse these past months."
"You know, I think we know everyone's story by now." Rose adds. "You know, aside from Ying and Vivi..."
"What about Alex?" Ying asks.
"He was a Ly'Lum soldier, remember?" Vivi asks.
"What? Why would I remember that?" Ying replies.
"I grew up in a large city, looked for work, moved out at an early age and went hungry before falling into the lap of a recruiter." Alex says. "My story isn't much special."
"And Vivi's story?" Ying asks. Vivi, however, was silent. "What? Can't be fair here and share it with us?"
"My family left me as a kid." Vivi replies. "Mom ditched me and dad died when I was a teenager. I skipped school most of my life but hit the books when I was home. Didn't like people, never have."
"Big shocker." Ying replies.
"I'd take it upon myself to study and be better than the idiots around me." Vivi continues. "I didn't like the idea of being lumped in with the rest of Seeira. So I'd study whatever I thought was challenging for me... whenever I wasn't learning my dad's trade. He's the one who taught me gun smithing. I didn't like it... at first. I hated the idea of following someone else's footsteps."
"What changed?" Siran asks.
Alex turns his head as if he knew how the rest of the story went as Vivi continued to say "My dad started getting lethargic. He'd pass out on the desk in the middle of sentences, couldn't wake up on time, he'd complain his sight was getting worse already. I thought it was because he was old, but I was just trying to reject the aching feeling I had in the back of my mind. My dad was sick. I didn't want to face that, because my dad was all I had. He didn't teach me gun smithing for himself, he wanted to pass on a legacy and know for sure that if I were alone, that I could take care of myself. He was always worried about someone looking after me after mom left us. She'd abandoned us long ago and my dad knew that something was going to stop him from being long for this world. Not long after he complained about his eyesight, he collapsed right after leaving the shower. I wanted to get him a quick check up from a doctor before, but we couldn't afford it."
"But guns cost a lot and your gun smithing shop has basically funded the entire war effort for our group against the Ly'Lum!" Finn adds.
"That wasn't always true." Vivi says. "When my dad ran it, the Valentine Shoppe was nothing special. Nobody came. Who'd wanna come all the way out to Seeira of all places for a mediocre gun? You see, on top of all of those money issues, doctors were rare in Seeira back then because most people who became a doctor there had only became one in order to leave the country. We had doctors, but they were almost always 'volunteers' for charity organizations, typically from America."
"So... don't they offer free medical coverage?" Finn asks.
"Free diagnosis." Vivi replies sternly. "Nothing more, nothing less. There were rarely a charity organization that were honest. They'd want tons of cash, up-front too, if they were to give you any actual effort. But, a diagnosis was a good start. I took my dad in..."
"Well?" Rose asks softly. "What happened?"
"It was brain cancer..." Vivi replied. "Stage 4. He gave my dad less than three weeks to live."
"So everything in the family was all left on your shoulders, huh?..." Ying asks empathetically.
"And more." Vivi answers. "Seeira might have had plenty of modernized development over the last 20 years, but things used to be super rough there. They didn't care if the only resident in a house was a little girl. If lot rent wasn't paid, they'd reposition the house itself. I had to do something and fast."
"So you made guns?" Haru asks.
"I experimented." Vivi answers. "It's not as simple as just making a gun that works and customers come rolling in. I had to create an incentive for consumers. There had to be something that soldiers and hunters needed badly that they'd pay top dollar for."
"So your solution was...?" Finn asks.
"My solution was to make something new that's capable and worthwhile." Vivi replies. "You see, regardless of the gun body style, there's two main focuses in magic guns. Large bodies have higher stability while smaller arms have faster cooling. Deciding between those two could spell the difference between life and death for the wielder. I needed to invent a new way to customize a weapon for it to factor both benefits into one, regardless of body shape. A truly superior firearm. So I began experimenting. I failed time and time again. One-hundred failures only meant I was one-hundred steps closer to finally reaching success, in my mind. I had taken out loan after loan, deal after deal to keep up with the bills. But one of those deals were about to come bite me in the ass. A loan shark, who wanted every penny he could squeeze out of me came to my house, threatening to burn down my father's shop."
"What happened?" Siran asks.
"He brought a crew, a group of thugs to beat it out of me." Vivi says. "All I had on me was some pocket change and a prototype weapon. Thankfully, that prototype was exactly what I needed for protection and business. I badly injured the thugs and sent the loan shark home, crying. From then on, rumors of a gifted prodigy gunsmith spread. Some soldiers around town heard about the scuffle and asked to see what the hell kinda weapon I used to take on those guys. I showed them my prototype. It looked ugly, but it had enough forward weight to reduce recoil as a small arms handgun, as well as had two cycling barrels that tight locked into place, revolving with the trigger and locking again. This allowed it to cool, hold stability and fire in rapid succession without overheating, jamming or misfire. That's how my shop ended up with it's popularity. I just wish my dad could've seen it."
"I guess that explains why you're a little rough around the edges." Ying quietly comments.
"You should count yourself lucky that you still have a dad." Vivi says to Ying.
"Let me be clear." Ying says. "I will never marry, and I will never have a child. The Li bloodline ends with me. Our family is a cursed one."
"Cursed?" Vivi scoffs. "Aren't you a little old to believe in curses?"
"Say what you will, but our family is nothing but trouble." Ying adds. "All the good ones in our family die early, the rest are bitter and terrible. There was a small conflict in Hong Kong one day, long ago. It was a protest. There were some rather disagreeable policies being passed, and I understand the stress that came from it. It was a policy that allowed China to 'adapt' any of it's own policies on top of our own as if they were just our kings or something. But you have to understand, back then, Hong Kong declared independence and we took pride in being a democratic republic. We set ourselves so far apart from China, it was a complete outrage to think China could just waltz in and take us back upon a whim. My grandfather, who was young at this time was at that protest rally. It started off peaceful, but that was only until the first shot was heard. I'm not sure about all of the specifics, because this was before my time, but a conflict broke out and my grandfather never returned home. My grandmother became extremely depressed by this and that stress remained even long after I was born. My dad was a former shaolin monk. He came to Hong Kong after leaving his monk life behind, and settled down with my mom whom was a police officer. The two were very different, but they clicked on a strange level." As Ying recalls this, a faint smile can be seen on her face. However, her smile fades slowly as she continues. "My dad, after taking care of grandmother for a long time picked up the torch of rebellion that grandfather left behind. He couldn't stand that grandmother was so lifeless like she were. I never knew the real her, but she was robotic my whole life. Dad couldn't stand it. One morning, when we woke up to go visit grandmother, we found her dead body. She had eventually taken her own life. Our family rapidly crumbled after this. Dad and uncle fought over who's more at fault, who's to blame, and why it had to be this way. Somewhere down the road, uncle blamed dad and grandfather for not minding their own business, sticking their nose where it doesn't belong and digging up turmoil with China. By this point, protests were fairly common. Dad had gone to every single one, but uncle... he thought they were pushing the conflict than it needed to go. Eventually, with uncle's master's degrees in law, he ran for cabinet seat as a part of the Chinese Socialist Party of the People's Republic of China, in competition to the Chinese Communist Party. Having abused the fact that he's from Hong Kong, he garnered a lot of votes under false promises. Dad couldn't have been more furious. Just before the ceremony to be officiated as president, dad started an all out war with uncle. The two of them fought and I wanted to try to stop them. Dad suspected that uncle was going to subjugate Hong Kong under China... and he was right. Mom and I though, wanted to be able to sort this out before it got out of hand. But we were too late. When we showed up, my dad was already scarred and near death, and mom rushed to his side. Thinking she was a traitor, the soldiers shot her on sight, right in front of dad. Dad swore on that day to do everything he can to take down uncle. By some grace of God, he snapped his own handcuffs and tried to crush his own brother's windpipe right in front of me. I guess a normal girl would've seen a bad guy who killed her mom is now trying to kill her dad. But on that moment, on that day, all I saw were monsters... monsters everywhere. I ran home and cried. I didn't know what else I could do. I didn't leave the house for weeks. After a while, I heard that my dad was still alive after having killed dozens of more people on that spot. My mom passed away and my uncle imprisoned my dad for treachery. In order to not fail my mother's memory, I tried to not be hunted down and die pointlessly, following her footsteps in becoming an officer. Even if it were for the people I hated, I knew the only way to make amends for my family was to do what I could to protect our people left in Hong Kong, even if we were to be subjugated once more."
"But... Ying, that's not your fault." Rose says softly.
"No, but it is my curse." Ying says sternly. "As you can see, our family is cursed. I made my choice long ago to do good while I'm here to make up for my sins, but I refuse to let the Li bloodline continue."
"Sins?" Alex asks.
"I'm a traitor." Ying says. "I was trained since I was a little girl by my father how to fight. I knew full well how to handle myself. Had I wanted to, I probably could've saved mother and father. But I froze..."
"Ying..." Vivi speaks softly.
"Then I worked for the very people who killed my mother, selfishly, to make amends." Ying adds. "I don't know if what I've done down the road from that point on would be enough to save my soul, but it's all I could think of to take responsibility."
"Then, the anger at your father?" Vivi asks.
"He has it coming." Ying adds. "My mother was an angel, but father? He was a shitty father. Always keen on strength, only strength and nothing but strength. When that war happened, he was the one who pushed his brother to the breaking point. He seemed to have driven Xiaobai mad, and he knew he could've just stood against his brother peacefully. But he just had to keep pushing. My uncle was easily the worst man I knew personally. But that doesn't absolve my father of the guilt of starting that war, of pushing where he didn't need to push, and bringing everyone around him down with him! He belongs in prison! That man only looks out for himself and if it weren't for the fact I'd hurt my mother's memory, I'd kill him myself."
"Sheesh" Alex exasperates. "Lotta harsh words for your old man. But while all that may be true, and trust me I do feel for you and understand your side, but maybe Vivi is also right. You still have a father. If nothing else, doesn't that prove that curse isn't real? At the very least, don't you think the right thing to do, to honor your mother, would be to treat the man she loved with forgiveness?"
"Forgiveness?..." Ying thinks out loud to herself.
"If I may..." Holly speaks up. "I know this seems out of character for me, but I can see why you wouldn't forgive your father. I feel the same way."
"Really?" Ying asks.
"Well, I've had similar feelings towards my parents." Holly adds. "With all fairness, why should you have to forgive someone when they do any wrong at all?" Suddenly, Ying starts to feel a little guilt. "I spent my whole childhood trying to take my parents down in the worst way possible. But when it came time to, I guess it's just... I don't know how to explain it. However, sometimes forgiving someone isn't for them. It's not so they can do better. It's for you, to be better, to grow past it. Don't you think you held on for too long, Ying?"
"Held on for too long...?" Ying asks herself.
"Look, you don't have to rush to an answer." Holly says. "It's just one of those things that aren't easy to face. We usually know the right answer to these things, but when it comes time to face these things, it's not only hard but scary to even think about facing it. You have to face yourself eventually though. What is it in your heart that you truly feel?"
"... you're right. That really was out of character." Alex adds.
"But Holly has always been supportive." Siran disagrees.
"Shuddup, Siran." Holly unenthusiastically argues.